Rise of the Ancients
by Tynan Makem
Summary: Wizarding Britain has existed for millenniums. It's wizards and witches have spanned the globe, learning, adapting, and sometimes repressing the native magics. In the late 20th Century, the war with Voldemort caused damage to the world's magic, causing creatures long since defeated to rise. The return of the ancients comes on both sides though.
1. When Reality is a Nightmare

**Alright everyone, this is the first fanfic I've written in ages, so I hope it goes well. It was also drafted and edited on an ipad, so excuse me if the formatting is funky. I hope to have a functioning computer within a week. Without further ado, let's get going!**

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Harry Potter universe, or any of it's characters. I'd be insanely rich, and popular if I did.

Curled up inside his cupboard under the stairs, Harry Potter was asleep. These rare few midnight hours were the only peace the young boy knew, and his conscious appreciation of them was always coupled with the pain in knowing that he had woken up again. He could never bring himself to commit suicide, he didn't think it was right. However, nothing would of pleased the ten year old boy more then to not wake up in the morning. If he had to spend one more day with his aunt and uncle, it was almost certain he would lose it. Of course, Harry always felt that way, until the sweet, dark embrace of sleep came to claim him.

Tonight was no exception. It had been a long day, even by his standards. Is uncle had woken him up early to cook Dudley a special breakfast, and had held his hand on the stove for taking too long. After that, it was off to weed the garden and clean out the gutters. Had it only been those simple tasks, it would of been an exceptionally good day. However, Dudley and his gang of friends delighted in making his chores as difficult as possible. After all, they had none of their own and needed to occupy the time during summer holiday. The older boys had taken to throwing stones at him while he was working on the garden. A fair few of them had squarely hit him in the head, and his pitch black hair was matted down from the blood. In a clever move for the group, they had boiled a pot of water and poured it in the gutter as Harry was cleaning them, scalding his already damaged hands. The scream he let out earned him a caning from Uncle Vernon.

It was only now in the cool bosom of the night that he was safe. The Harry Hunting wore out his morbidly obese cousin, and his uncle usually had enough whiskey in his system to knock him out at this point. Though ever muscle hurt to move, when ever Harry would enter his cupboard at night, his face would approach a smile. Here, they couldn't hurt him, scream at him, or try to make him cry. It was his safe haven, the only place he felt at home. Once or twice, he had thought about running away, but Aunt Petunia assured him he'd be joining his parents if he did, and she'd see to it personally. At the time, his eyes lit up like she had given him a precious gift. To leave this world, to escape them, and more importantly to meet his parents, that was a wonderful idea to him. It didn't matter that his cheer lost him dinner for five days, it provided him with an internal escape.

Now, whenever he would curl up on the floor at night, he would dream of his parents. Harry had never seem a picture of them, none were ever kept in the house. He liked to think though, that he looked like his father, and that his mother was as gorgeous as the setting sun, and had hair the same color. In his dreams, his mother would gently wake him up in the morning with a soft kiss, and then join him at breakfast. She would play games with him and read to him until his father came home from work, when they all would join together and have a nice dinner. His father would talk about the days work, and crack jokes while Harry sat in rapt attention. The dreams would always end the same way, with his parents tucking him into bed, reading him a bed time story, and telling him that they loved him before kissing him goodnight and shutting his door. It was the kind of happiness that Harry knew could only ever be a dream for him.

Tonight was different, however. When Harry closed his eyes, expecting to see his dream parents, the scene was entirely different. It was pitch black out, the only light coming from the full moon shining down on him, and the thousands of stars looking on. The celestial bodies barely illuminated the rolling green hills and fields. Ancient trees stretched up from the ground, their gnarled and knotted trunks and branches appearing as the faces of the steadfast soldiers of the earth, sitting motionless until called upon by their masters. A small creek rippled close by, making the only discernible noise in the field he was standing in. Harry went to investigate the creek, eager to see what natural flowing looked like, even if it was just his imagination.

As he looked down into it, the shadow of several large birds glided across it's surface. Harry turned around to see three large ravens perched in the nearest tree.

"You poor child. Such wickedness visited upon such innocence. Yet after all you have suffered, you have no malice. Why is that?" came the cool, womanly disembodied voice.

Harry's head whipped around from right to left, searching for it's origin. He started to hyperventilate, his yes darting around rapidly. This was supposed to be his safe place. His parents were supposed to be here. Harry's fists clenched, not wanting to cry out. Making noise always earned him pain. Where had the voice come from? Why wouldn't they just get it over with?

"Calm yourself, boy. I mean you no harm. I only wish to know your mind. Servants of mine reported to me of your extraordinary temperance, and it brought me great curiosity. So, why not lash out?"

Harry turned around to see a tall woman with long hair as dark as the night itself. She stood before him with no anger on her face, but her piercing gold eyes contained within them a tempest. Yet this woman radiated a kind of feeling Harry could not quite place. Stammering at first, he answered.

"I'd be dead if I did anything against them. One day, when I'm bigger and stronger, they'll get what they deserve" he told the woman. It didn't matter to him what she thought, dreams couldnt hurt him.

The woman smirked at him, and raised an eyebrow "Ah, so you do have hate in you? Do you want to seek revenge?

Harry shook his head "I want justice. Their suffering just happens to fit that description"

The woman laughed madly "It seems my servants were right about you, Harry Potter. You will see me again soon. Until then, sleep with the peace of the dead"

With that, the ravens surrounded her and the woman disappeared in a cyclone of feathers. The only trace of her previous presence were the footprints she left in the grass. Harry wondered what she had been talking about. Who were her servants, and why were they interested in him? Those were questions for another time. For now, Harry laid down in the grass and closed his eyes. He'd find out soon enough.

**So, what did you think? I don't think it's too terrible. It's a little odd, but it should get better soon. I have a lot of plans for this fic, and I can't wait to write them. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Darkening of the Moon

**Alright everyone, I'm back. Sorry it took so long to get this updated, I was in the process of moving and between that, work, and college I've been a tad busy. I should have this updated on a fairly regular basis from now on. Without further ado, let's get this thing going!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I only wish I could have that kind of influence on the world**

**Chapter 2:**

In the small, sleepy town of Ottery St. Catchpole, the sun was rising brightly. The sound of roosters and other farm animals rising to greet the day could be heard throughout the valley. In the distance, the faint sound of a mother yelling at her hoards of children to rise and begin their chores could be heard echoing all the way to a tall, lopsided building sitting on a hill. The warm beams of the sun shone through the tallest window of the building, wrapping the alabaster skin of the young girl sleeping in her bed in a warm embrace. The girl shifted in her sleep, smiling softly at the gentle feel of the sun against her skin. Her sleep undisturbed, she hugged her stuffed rabbit tightly, still happily in dreamland.

The door of the room creaked open, causing the small girl to slowly open her eyes. She rubbed her eyes, and slowly stretched her arms over her head as she yawned. This was far too early in the morning to be awake. Surely someone must of bewitched her windows to make them shine like this. The tall woman in the doorway softly laughed, and smiled as she approached the girl's bed. The woman lightly placed her hand on the young girl's arm.

"Luna, dear. It's time you woke up. The sun will give up shining if it doesn't have to compete with that lovely smile of those" said the light, airy voice of Artemis Lovegood. "And you did promise to help me look for Nargles this morning, and you know they like the morning the best"

Luna giggled, and reached up to hug her mother. Her mother believed in such silly things. She was always asking her dad to put his articles in his newspaper, but he always told her mother that her work with magical creatures was too important for his rag. Better to just keep to her spell work for that. Luna and her father loved listening to her mother's fantastic tales about creatures so bizarre that even those in the Wizarding world scoffed at them. However, Luna loved listening to the stories her mother told, even if she didn't quite believe in them. They were just stories and legends after all.

"Alright mum, I'll be down in a minute or two. I'll get dressed, then let's start searching in the garden" the nine year old said mid yawn. Her mother kissed her on the forehead, got up, and left the room.

As far as Luna Lovegood was concerned, she had the most perfect life anyone could have. Her mother and father were always around, and always willing to take a break from what they were doing to talk or play with her. She had a few friends in the town, and she'd even made friends with another witch from not too far away. Her friend's mother was a bit mad, but Luna and her family decided that it was simply due to their red hair slowly driving them insane. It also accounted for why her friend seemed shy and quiet, the hair hadn't had enough time to work it's evil magic upon her mind.

Luna quickly got dressed and wandered her way down the stairs to the kitchen. Her father was already sitting at the table, one hand busily writing notes on a rough draft for his paper, the other holding a hot cup of tea. Xenophilius was immensely dedicated to his work, often forgetting to sleep for days on end to make sure that The Quibbler had all its articles in order. The grammar needed to be double and triple checked before re-writing it with a self-correcting quill just to be sure. All the sources needed to be verified and their credentials checked out time and time again. He often joked to his friends that he had two children, Luna and the Quibbler, and he wasn't sure which one he spent more time with. Of course hearing his daughter enter the room, he set down his quill and turned to her.

"Well good morning, beautiful. What are you doing up so early?" He asked, beaming down at his daughter.

"Mum wanted me to help her look for Nargles this morning. Do you think we'll ever find them, daddy?" the small girl chirped.

Her father laughed, and shook his head "No my dear, I have a feeling that will be one mystery even your mother won't be able to solve"

Luna just smiled, and went out to the garden to help her mother look for those fantastic creatures. Luna absolutely admired her mother. She was a leading spell weaver, skilled enough she was able to find work even outside the Ministry. Letters were always coming, inviting her mother to work at some mysterious department within the Ministry, but her mother always declined. When Luna asked way, her mother always told her it was so she could spend her time at home with her. On top of being absolutely brilliant, her mother was stunningly beautiful, kind, funny, and everything the young girl could want.

The day passed by without much incident. After Luna helped her mother search the garden for Nargles, she noticed some weeds and decided to pick them so the flowers could grow even more. Between the two, Luna had enough outside adventures for the day, and decided to head back in to read some books. She curled up in a chair in the den, and remained there for the remainder of the day, reading fantastic works of fiction from the muggle world, chuckling at all the odd things they thought about what Wizarding society was like. She often wondered what would happen if muggles as a whole found out about them, but her father assured her it was for the good of both peoples. He told her that to them, they were Nargles.

When the sun finally sank into the horizon, Luna put away her books and began to wander back up the stairs. She hadn't seen her mother since the morning, and wanted to go say hello. Normally her mother would of popped down at least five times during the course of the day to check on her, and see how she was doing. The second she set her foot on a stair, Luna heard a loud bang, and a thud shortly followed. Luna's eyes shot wide open, and she ran up the stairs as fast as she could.

The door to her mother's work room had been blown clear off its hinges, and was laying in pieces against the wall of the stairway. Panicked, Luna dashed into the room and looked on in horror. Bookcases lay on their sides, the books inside of them either in flames, or ripped to shreds. The windows had all been blown out, small pieces of glass still desperately clinging to the frame, their jagged points glaring menacingly at her. The floor was charred black, and had gashes running through the wood. In the middle of the room, the engraved circle full of indecipherable runes had been torn apart, and in the middle of it all lay her mother, motionless. Luna ran over to her mother's body, and clung to her tightly.

"Please wake up mommy, please wake up!" Luna cried, sobbing into her mother's chest.

Her mother weakly raised her hand, and ran it through Luna's hair. "Sshhh. Don't cry my sweet. I'm going to be alright" said her mother, her normally airy voice now sounding disembodied. "Just remember Luna, I will always love you" with that, her mother's voice faded off, and her hand dropped to the floor.

Luna stayed in the room for hours, deeply crying into her mother's body. Her father had dashed in seconds after her mother had last spoken, and he hadn't said a word. Upon seeing his wife's corpse, he dropped to his knees and starred on in unbelieving shock. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Luna's father held her in his arms, picked up his daughter, and slowly carried her up to her room, joining her in sobbing. He set Luna in her bed, and lumbered back to the room, to tend to his now deceased wife. Luna clutched her stuffed rabbit with all her might, and slowly cried herself to sleep.

Luna soon found herself laying in a patch of grass, a clear starlit sky shining above her in the sky. Her head darted back and forth, wondering where she was, her eyes still puffy and red from crying. A warm breeze wrapped around her, seemingly hugging her tightly. Luna gripped her rabbit even tighter, till it started to squirm. The movement shocked her, and she quickly released her hold on what had moment before been a stuffed rabbit that was now very much real. Luna quickly realized it was only a dream, all the while hoping the day's events had been just a horrible nightmare.

"You have been greatly wronged, child. My sisters and I weep for your loss"

Luna whipped around and saw a tall woman with long, black hair standing a few feet from her, holding her arms open offering an embrace. Not caring at this point, Luna rushed into the woman's arms, and clung to her tightly.

"Why did my mommy have to die?" Luna asked the strange woman between sobs

"There are great evils afoot in the world, child. They are hurting many people" the woman replied, holding Luna close. Luna kept on crying in the woman's arms, while she rubbed her back gently, assuring her that things would be alright. After a while, Luna pulled back for a moment and looked at the woman.

"Who are you, anyway?" Luna asked her.

"I'm a friend of your mother's, one she hasn't seen in a long time. We were once very close, and though you do not know me yet, I consider you one of my own children." said the woman

Luna began to cry again "If only you were real. Why are you just a dream?"

The woman smiled, and leaned down to look Luna in the eye "Dreams can be just as real as anything, and are sometimes more real than the physical world. Know this, Luna, you will be seeing more of me. There is another I need to introduce you two, but in time you will both get what your hearts desire"

With that, the woman dissolved into a flock of ravens, and flew off into the light of the full moon. Luna collapsed to the ground, and the rabbit came to sit in her lap. Luna held the creature, and sat in a world of misery and confusion. Who was the strange woman who claimed to be a friend of her mother? More importantly, why did this have to happen? They had a perfect life, and they tried hard to never anger anyone. Why would anyone want to harm them? She laid down in the grass and closed her eyes once more, the dream fading. Whatever the answers were, Luna swore she'd find them.

**Well, what did you think? This chapter was a bit hard for me to do as I've never experienced that kind of loss. I was also having a bit of a hard time tapping into that childlike perfect state of happiness I was trying to go for in the beginning of the chapter. Either way, let me know what you think, good or bad. Thanks for reading!**


	3. And Then There Were Three

**This story was formerly called "The Chaos Lord" for those of you who are potentially confused.**

**Well hi there everyone! Long time no see huh? Well I'm back, finally. I lost my muse for a while and I joined a quidditch team but now I'm back ^^ I have a plan for the story again so hopefully I'll be updating on a regular basis. Without further ado, let's get to the chapter! **

Disclaimer: Did the Denever Dementors win the World Cup during Goblet of Fire? Since the answer is no, I don't own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 3: And Then There Were Three**

Hogwarts castle had always been an odd place, even as far as magical structures went. The latent magic from countless spells cast by the students and teachers, when combined with the wards, made it sometimes appear that the building was sentient. Of course this wasn't magically possible. Even with that kind of power, magic cannot give birth to sentient thoughts. However, weird things would happen from time to time. Sometimes bullies would be hexed from nowhere, food would appear to especially hungry students and on rare occasion, people would get letters from nowhere. On such occasion happened in late July, as Minerva McGonagall sat in her office preparing for the year.

She shouldn't even he there, McGonagall thought to herself. She should be in Armagh for her annual visit. The county had a special kind of magical power to it found few other places and it was particularly useful for transfiguration. She had written her thesis on it when she was working on her Mastery and had been back every year since. But no, the Ministry had enacted a new law regarding Hogwarts teachers to submit their lessons to the Ministry and now she had to stay into the summer to have them written out in the format they wanted. She smiled though, thinking about the county and then, drifting in from the doorway, came a letter that landed directly in front of her. As she picked it up, McGonagall knew there was something off about the letter.

The paper smelled like the sea at the height of a storm, salt and water churning together with a hint of wood from wrecked ships. The energy rolling off of it felt like an oncoming storm, powerful and chaotic but calm and peaceful for the moment. There was also something dark and hidden about it, a feeling that McGonagall could not place. With reservation, she opened the letter.

"Dear Minerva, we've been watching you for some time and you have shown great potential. It is time you used it. The Old One has caused a great rift. Without your help, the damage will be irreversible. He will give you an order and you must not obey. The Cauldron is simmering. Do your best to not let it boil."

Minerva read the letter a few times before setting it down. There was no name attached to it, only a raven's talon print signed the document. Given her association with Albus, she assumed he was the "Old One". Whatever damage this person thought he had done, she did not know. Whoever sent this letter greatly concerned her though. If they had, in fact, been watching her, they would have to have an "in" in the castle. She made a note to re-power the wards. Now being too distracted to continue her lesson plans, she left her office, heading towards the ward anchors beneath the castle.

The letter greatly concerned her. There were no charms or spells on it that she could tell, so for it to radiate magic like that was disconcerting. The feel of it sent a shiver through her. Either someone was trying to impress her and empowered it with some very specific energy or some powerful Irish witches or wizards needed her attention. McGonagall really hoped someone was just trying to impress her. As she rounded the corner and passed by the Great hall, she nearly ran into the half-giant Hagrid.

"Sorry Professor, didn't see ya there. I was just on my way to the owlry to send out letters to students,".

McGonagall furrowed her brow "Well thank you Hagrid but that is my job as Headmistress"

Hagrid just shrugged. "Special orders from Dumbledore. He told me it was imperative that I sent these letters out,".

The half giant held up a remarkable bundle of letters, more than enough for an entire house. Why could he possibly need to send out that many letters? All of the students should have already gotten their grades and book lists. She had personally seen too all of the Gryffindors as well as the new students.

"Could I see those letters?" she asked

"Sorry Professor, Dumbledore told me it's for my hands only. I'm just to send them out"

Minerva sighed She hated using legimency but Hagrid gave her no choice. She peered into his mind and one thing stuck out. Harry Potter. All of these letters were for him? What in the world was going on? She made sure to memorize the address so she could stop by and visit Mr. Potter shortly. Resolved to talk to Albus, she pulled out of Hagrid's mind.

"Thank you then, that will be all Hagrid,".

McGonagall turned and started walking up the stairs. Something was going on and she was determined to find out what it was. There must have been a couple hundred letters in that pile. How could one person need so many? The fact that Albus hadn't said anything to her concerned Minerva as well. If something was going on with an upcoming student, she needed to know. Especially if that student was Harry Potter. She gave the gargoyle the password and entered Albus' office.

The office was an odd collection of books and trinkets from all over. The full spectrum of magic was present in this room, save blood and dark. Albus had a very explicit rule forbidding those magics. As Minerva entered the room, Albus was viewing a memory in his pensieve. He had been doing that on a regular basis lately. He was an old and highly experienced wizard though, so there was bound to be a lot of things he needed it for. Minerva waited patiently for a few minutes until Albus pulled his head from the pensieve.

"Good afternoon, Minerva. How can I help you? Said Albus, turning to face her.

"I just ran into Hagrid. He had a large bundle of letters for Harry Potter. Do you know anything about this?

"Ah yes," said Albus, stepping closer "It seems that Mister Potter has been having issues receiving his letters. It's no problem at all,".

Minerva looked at him sternly "that may be true Albus but you should have notified me of those issues. After all, I am responsible for the new students until they are sorted,".

Albus smiled knowingly and raised his hand as if to dismiss her "You have been so busy, I thought you wouldn't want to be bothered,".

McGonagall took a step towards Albus "I am never too busy for my students,".

As she said that, several alarms started going off in the office. The room was filled with loud noise, flashing lights and it quickly dissolved into chaos. Fawkes started flying around the room screeching like mad, disoriented by the flashing lights. The two magical people shoved their fingers into their ears to drown out the noise. Albus looked remarkably frightened and ran to his desk, where a gyroscope on his desk had jumped into the air and started flashing red and was producing what sounded like an air raid siren.

"It seems I was mistaken, Minerva. I must attend to this. You would do well to stay here," said Dumbledore as he turned back to face her.

Minerva thought back to the letter, which was difficult with the blaring alarms. So far it seemed to predict what would happen and who was she to interfere with a good prophecy? She took several quick steps towards his desk.

"No Albus, I don't think I will," she said, before grabbing the gyroscope and vanishing.

**Well, how was that for a first chapter back? In the next chapter, Harry will get introduced to the magical world in an odd way and some other surprises will occur. If no one manages to guess who the mystery woman from Harry and Luna's dreams, she'll be revealed in about five chapters. If someone gets it, I'll make it two. Unless they want me to make you wait. I'll steadily be giving more clues in the chapters though. Till then, thanks for reading!**


	4. Little Shack of Horrors

_**Hey there everyone, I'm back. Sorry it took me so long to update. School, quidditch, you know how it is. Regardless, I've managed to finally get this thing written. I hope to stay on the one chapter a month schedule I promised ages ago but we'll see how that goes. Anyway, my quidditch team is playing in our regionals in two weeks so wish us luck!**_

**Disclaimer: Did Seamus stand by Harry when things got tough? Since that's a no, I obviously didn't write the HP series, nor do I own it.**

**Island off the coast of England-**

The sea was a roaring tempest as the waves crashed against the rocks. The wind ripped through the air, biting at Minerva's skin as she landed with a loud pop on the small island. The dark night sky was a black abyss, refusing to yield to the light of the moon and stars that were hiding behind the obsidian walls of the clouds. It took McGonagall a few seconds to gain her bearings as the only light for miles was the flicker of a candle in the ratty shack situated at the center of the island. She held the device that had transported her here in her hands, wondering what madness Albus had succumbed to and for that matter, where in the world she was. All other thoughts were erased from her mind however, when a thunderous bang shot through the night like a cannon and a flash of light from within the shack briefly illuminated the otherwise barren mound.

Minerva took a step towards the shack, determined to find out what was going on. Her efforts were in vain though, as the shack exploded in a writhing, whirling mass of deep purple energy. McGonagall was blown backwards, sending her rocketing into a nearby pillar-like rock. The energy whipped across the small expanse, leveling the structure instantly and reducing it to rubble. A tendril of the dark mass came inches from lacerating McGonagall's face. In that moment, she was able to feel the actualized fury and rage that was present in the energy. This was pure magic, concentrated into physical form. Pain, worry, hate, vengeance. All of these radiated off of the energy, rolling across the ground and crashing into any solid object like waves, steadily flattening the island. This went on for several minutes, to the terror of Minerva. As quickly as it began however, it stopped. McGonagall warily stood up and approached the former epicenter of the storm.

The foundation of the shack was all that remained of the building. The structure had looked shoddily built to begin with but not even a scrap of wood remained. It had been completely obliterated. As Minerva approached the former building, she noticed red splotches that stood out in contrast to the gray and brown of the ground. The storm had died with the magic and now the moon shone brightly on the scene. Minerva stood horrified. Where what she assumed had been the living room were three distinct pools of blood and entrails. A severed arm lay at her feet and the head of an overly large child had rolled into the back corner. The storm of energy had eviscerated these poor people, reducing them to little more than blood and mush. At the center of the scene lay a small boy, who was bleeding profusely.

McGonagall tried to dash to the small child but was abruptly stopped. Several flocks of ravens flue down onto the island, cawing and crowing. They surrounded the boy and seemed to be studying him. The sea itself seemed to have died in a large ring around the island but outside it's bounds the water churned as if the storm had returned. McGonagall attempted to make another step towards the child but in that moment, all of the ravens tilted back their heads and let out a blood curtling scream. It was as if a banshee had come, their wailing was so loud and so mournful. The scream lasted only a few seconds but to Minerva it lasted an eternity. They flew up in a tornado of feathers, beeks and claws and swirrled around the child, letting out one last scream before flying to the west. As they left, Minerva rushed to the child.

McGonagall was horrified at what she saw as she approached the small child. It was as if he had taken a blasting hex straight to the stomach and there were countless bits of metal lodged in his flesh. The only time she could remember seeing wounds like this was when someone attempted to break into her house decades ago and her late husband shot the man with a muggle shotgun. One of the people that were now puddles on the floor, she imagined, was an invader who had attacked the child. Given the intensity of the magic and the circumstances under which she arrived here, she guessed that this was none other than Harry Potter. This was too powerful of a storm to even be accidental magic, she knew this. Something else must have caused the storm. Perhaps the invader was a former Death Eater who had an especially powerful dark artifact that had backfired. It was certainly possible, if unlikely. All of these thoughts raced through her mind as she prepared to try and give the boy some basic healing before the Aurors inevitably got there.

Minerva drew her wand and took a deep breath. Some aspects of transiguration crossed over into healing and she had learned some other techniques from Pomona during the war but she was certainly no expert. Knowing full well that if she made a mistake she could very well end his life, she set to work attempting to stabilize him so that he could be taken to St. Mungo's. She began by levitating the metal shards out of his body one by one, as they would make any other work far more complicated. Sweat rolled down her brow as she worked. Even a small slip could make things worse. Finally though, she was able to remove all of the metal from the boy. She swore under her breath, wishing she had a blood replenishing potion to force down the boy's throat and then put him in a stasis spell. It was that time that McGonagall heard several pops. The DMLE had arrived. A half -dozen wands were pointed at her in a circle before a booming voice cut through the silence.

"McGonagall! What in the hell happened here?!" called the war-weathered man with the magical eye.

Minerva turned to him and scowled. She had not gotten along with Alastor terribly well during the war but his methods were effective. It made sense that the Ministry would send him to deal with such a large release of dark magic. They had likely not seen such a displace since the height of Voldemort's power.

"I don't properly know, Alastor. I was with Albus, then I was here and chaos ensued. Now would you kindly stop interrogating me and get Mister Potter to St. Mungos?"

It took Alastor a few moments to process what she said. He was still reeling from the latent dark magic that was present in the area. This was the first Class 1 event that had taken place on British soil for well over a decade. It was if the world itself had risen up and given it's might to rain down death and chaos onto the poor souls who were formerly here. The only thing he was able to compare it to was when he visited the Tunguska site during his training as an Auror Cadet, to see what happened when pure dark magic exploded. As soon as he heard Potter though, his attention snapped back.

"Perkins, Jones! I want readings from all around this site. Samples too. The Unspeakables are going to want to have a look at some of this stuff. Allison! Get Potter to St. Mungo's stat! Gallard and Johnson and Stone, I want you to go with him and stand guard. If anything else happens to this child I'll personally see you made a bigger disgrace of than the Quibbler!" Moody barked.

His men snapped to action and began following his orders. Perkins and Jones took out several sample bags and began to collect bits and pieces from around the area. They collected clumps of dirt, they chipped off pieces of the foundation of what used to be the shack and they collected the severed limbs, after placing them under stasis spells. Allison approached McGonagall, who levitated Harry back to the ground so that the Auror could put him under her own spell, before grabbing onto him and disappearing with a loud pop. The other three Aurors quickly followed after him, not wanting to raise the ire of Mad-Eye Moody. The lead Auror in question then walked over to McGonagall

"Okay, the grunts are gone. Now what really happened here?" he asked

McGonagall sighed and shook her head "What I told you before is essentially the truth. I appeared here just before it turned into ground zero. There was pure magic everywhere, but the magic itself was not pure at all. It was darker than almost anything I've faced before. It was like pure hate. Somehow though, it still felt natural. That's all I know, Alastor"

The Auror shook his head and surveyed the scene once more with his magical eye. There area was still covered in magical residue but there was no wands to be found, not even the slight aura that a broken core would give off. No, there hadn't been any wizards or witches involved with this, save for Potter. How he alone came out of this alive was anyone's guess. Alastor knew that the boy had something to do with this, he just couldn't figure out what it could possibly be. There would need to be further investigation and he would most certainly have to interview the child. He would get to the bottom of this, if it was the last thing he did. With that, Alastor disapparated.

**Harry's Mind-**

Harry's eyes slowly fluttered open. He felt amazing, better than he had ever felt. The tearing pain of hunger had vanished, his arms were free from bruises and breaks and most notably, his stomach, which had previously been torn apart by Vernon's shotgun, was now completely healed. Knowing that this was too good to be true, it quickly came to his mind that he was in a dream and not reality. Looking around, his suspicions were confirmed. He was in the middle of a valley which was surrounded by rolling hills. There must have been forty shades of green. There were emerald greens, forest greens, light and dark greens of all kinds. This place felt very peaceful and balanced, like everything was in complete harmony.

Across the way from where Harry sat lay a very large and long stone. IT lay at the base of a large, circular mound, as if it was obscuring something or blocking the way to somewhere. This place gave off a different feel than the rest of the area. It felt mysterious, hidden and powerful. At the same time, it felt comforting, earthy and healing. Carved into the face of the stone were intricate lines and swirls, interlocking and weaving in and out, over and under before branching out into three spirals on either end of the stone. It seemed to call to Harry, inviting him closer, inviting him into the earth itself. Seeing as this seemed like a pleasant dream, Harry approached the mound.

As he approached the mound, the stone began to change, causing him to take a step back. The carvings began to glow a brilliant St. Brigit's blue and the light seemed to be pulsing like a heartbeat and flowing through the lines like veins. After the initial surprise, Harry continued forward. The closer he got to the stone, the more at peace he felt. The energy of the stone slowly spread outwards until it engulfed Harry. When it had completely washed over him, Harry noticed something. At the center of the stone, where all of the lines tied together, there was a large, door-shaped opening, with stairs dug downwards leading into the mound. Hesitantly, Harry took the first few steps into the earth.

The steps were long and winding, leading deep into the ground. As he slowly descended, the air around him began to cool the further down he went. The bannister of the stairs was like the gnarled root of a tree, stretching downwards into the ground. Along its side were carvings that Harry was unable to decipher. They appeared to be vertical lines in various sets that spanned one long horizontal line that went down the entirety of the bannister. Eventually, he reached the bottom of the stairs, and found a large oak door with iron banding. At the top-center of the door was a brass knocker in the shape of a horse. Harry reached up and knocked three times before letting it go. As he did so, the door swung open. Curiosity overpowered Harry and he walked inside the room.

The room was large and circular in appearance. On the far wall were portraits of three women, the woman from Harry's dream weeks before, a woman with long, flaming red hair, and a woman with deep nutmeg hair. The woman from before seemed to be smiling madly, whereas the woman with red hair had a kind smile and the woman with brown hair seemed very prim and proper. To Harry, they all looked very pretty. Sitting in the middle of the room was a large cauldron with a lit flame under it. Steam rose up from the cauldron and an odd smell came from it. It smelled like nothing he had ever experienced. Taking a few more steps into the room and looking around, Harry noticed that there was suits of leather armor on mannequins near one wall and on another there were spears, swords and other weapons. Near these weapons was a passageway that lead to another room. More preoccupied with the cauldron than anything else, he approached it and looked over. Inside it, Harry saw himself. He was lying in a bed with strange people surrounding him. They all had funny little sticks in their hands, which were pointed at him. One of the people set down their stick and brought a glass vial containing a yellow liquid to his mouth. The vial slowly drained into him as Harry watched. This whole thing brought a queasy feeling to his stomach. Harry rarely even saw his own reflection so to see others messing with his unconscious body, even if it was just a dream, was very unsettling.

"Goodness child, stand back from that thing. It's dangerous for someone like you" called a worried voice from beyond the room.

Harry took several steps back and cowered. When someone told him to do something, it almost always came immediately before a whipping, beating, or some other kind of pain. He quickly brought his arms up to shield his face from the inevitable strike. After a few seconds, it still had not come. Seconds more, and he slowly opened his eyes and brought his arms down so that he could see who had spoken to him. Standing before him with a look of pain in her eyes was the woman with red hair from the portrait. She stood tall over him, wearing a purple dress with gold trim that fit snug on her body. A cloak of midnight black was wrapped around her shoulders. Her lips were pursed and her brow furrowed and for a moment, Harry thought he saw her eyes glisten.

"Child, you have no need to fear me. I am here to help you. I trust you remember my sister? You spoke with her some time ago." The woman said as she rested her hand on Harry's shoulder, while she motioned to the picture of the black haired woman with the other hand.

"You mean the raven lady from before? Yes, I dreamed of her a while ago. She was nice. She asked me some questions about Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley before leaving. She didn't even beat me" he replied, looking up at her.

At the mention of his family, the woman scowled and her face showed a mighty rage. This caused Harry to flinch once more, cowering before the woman. Rage turned to confusion, as the woman raised an eyebrow as if wondering why he would cower before her. Quickly though, realization spread across the woman's face. Virtually every person he had ever come in contact with had treated him horribly. Why would he assume that she would be any different, even if her sister had been? The woman did the only thing she could think of at that point. She enveloped Harry in a hug. This shocked Harry more than anything. He had never been hugged before and did not know how to respond. Was she about to pick him up? Why was she grabbing a hold of him? Slowly though, Harry came to the understanding that maybe he was supposed to reciprocate the action and so he hugged her back. The woman held onto him for a few more moments before she let go and stood up once more.

"Child, you were very terribly hurt by those pathetic excuses for human beings that were unfortunately your family. If my sisters and I had not acted when we did, you would surely be dead. You are safe now but your body is still damaged"

The concept of dying was still something that appealed to Harry. All his life had been so far was pain and suffering. Why shouldn't he die? After all, if Vernon and Petunia were to be believed, he was a worthless wretch who wasn't worth keeping around to begin with. After all the times he had heard them say that, a good part of him believed it to be true. As much as he hated them and wanted them to suffer, he knew they were probably right. So he should be done away with. Yet according to this woman, her and her sisters had stopped the one thing he had wished for most, besides the deaths of his "family", from happening. Why? Pausing his thoughts for a moment, Harry realized that she had said that they "were" his family, not "are".

"Excuse me ma'am, but I have to ask. You said they were my family. How is it possible that they were once my family but are not any longer?" he asked, unsure of how that could be.

The woman smiled back at him "Well it's because they no longer occupy this, or any, plane of existence. My sisters and I took great pains to wipe them from reality. As for their existence in the Otherworld, let's just say they have been barred admittance."

Harry stopped to ponder this for a moment. Dudley, Petunia, and Vernon were now dead. The people who had made his life an absolute nightmare but admittedly were still his family, the only connection left to his parents, were dead. On the one hand, he wanted them gone with every fiber of his being. On the other hand, now he was truly alone in the world. There was no one left who cared, or even should care about him. At least the Dursleys had fed him, on occasion, and he had a place to live. Now where would he go? Seeing the concern on his face, the woman patted him on the head

"Rest assured child, this is for the better. You will be properly taken care of now, of this I can assure you. There are good people in the world, people who want to look after you. On the other hand, there are people who want to use you for their own gain. You need to stay far away from these people. My sisters and I will do our best to steer you in the proper direction but your decisions are your own and from time to time, you will be tested. If you pass though, you will be one of the greatest humans of all. Now it is time for you to return to your world, Harry. Just know that we are watching"

The woman disappeared in a puff of smoke and before Harry could even look around the room to see where she went, the world began to spin. Faster and faster the room spun, till all the color was a blur before him. As the room spun faster, Harry could hear the beating sound of horse hooves hitting the ground with great speed and force as their owners ran at staggering speeds, though there were none to be seen. The sound got louder and louder and the room spun faster and faster until the sound was deafening and the room was as one solid wall before him. It was steadily driving him mad; Harry was unsure just how much more he could take. Then, all of a sudden, he awoke in his hospital bed.

_**So, what did you think? I originally didn't intend to kill of the Dursleys until much later in the story but as I was writing it, it just sort of turned out like that. Regarless, I like how it turned out. Be sure to let me know what you thought. Oh, and congrats to Perceval23 for guessing who was in Harry and Luna's dreams. Well, for the most part anyway. Next chapter is finally the "Introduce Harry to the Wizarding World" chapter but McGonagall suspects more than she's telling. Till next time, see ya!**_


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